Darji a promoter of BitConnect was held for Bitcoin Scam

Divyesh Darji, head of BitConnect in India, was arrested after he arrived in the national capital of India that is Delhi when he was returning from Dubai. Inspector P G Narwade of Criminal Investigation Department (CID-Crime) of Gujarat police said, “Divyesh Darji was living in Dubai. A team to search for him was issued against him. The Department of Immigration alerted us when he was on the way from Dubai to Ahmedabad, after which he was arrested this evening,” PG Narwade said.

“The BitConnect company came into existence in 2016, and in 2017, it launched and started its coin. It remained active till January this year. It released 2.80 crore coins, out of which 1.80 crore coins were sold to investors,” P G Narwade said.

“The accused Divyesh Darji held seminars and events not only in India but also in other countries promising high interest daily interest rate of 1 per cent – on investment in BitConnect coins. The cost of one BitConnect coin on January 16, 2018, when the company shut down, was USD 362,” the Gujarat police said.

An FIR was filed recently, the third in the case being probed by the Surat unit of CID so far, the promoters of BitConnect collected Bitcoins worth Rs 1.14 crore from one investor before fleeing. “Employees working at BitConnect Surat admitted that they and promoters collected crores of rupees from thousands of investors” was claimed by the CID.

The coin scam came to light after Surat-based builder Shailesh Bhatt alleged that some policemen from Amreli district kidnapped him and his business partner and extorted Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency worth Rs 9 crore from them. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency which is not regulated or recognized by any of the Central banks. Shailesh Bhatt himself was later booked and was taken into jail without any proof for extorting cryptocurrency and cash worth over Rs 155 crore at gunpoint from two men who worked for Satish Kumbhani, who is one of the promoters of BitConnect.